I actually think one of the biggest problems with promoting breastfeeding is that people aren?t honest enough.
Breastfeeding is promoted as this wonderful bonding experience during which mother and baby form this magical bond and the love grows and the baby gets all this lovely nutritional milk and it?s convenient and doesn?t involve sterilizing and doesn?t cost any money and it is soooo benefitial to the baby and and and.
And it can be all those things. But?
What they don?t tell you is that it?s hard. Bloody hard.
What they don?t tell you is that it can take weeks to establish your milk supply, during which time you may have latching issues, which might result in cracked, bleeding nipples, which are agony. They don?t tell you that your baby might have to be latched on all day every day for the first few weeks, during which time you will be unable to leave the house, or give the baby to anyone else because he needs to be constantly on your breast while you get a feeding patern established. And all this during your most vulnerable time having just given birth. What they don?t tell you is that your boobs may leak every time your baby cries, for months. Or that your baby may throw up blood which isn?t actually the baby?s blood but is from your nipple which has been bleeding while he?s been feeding.
I wonder how many women who gave up first time round breastfeed successfully second time round. I wonder how much of that has to do with the fact that second time round they have a better idea of what to expect.
I was unable to breastfeed as I didn?t produce milk so there really was no hope for me (once the collostrum dried up that was it). But even in the first few days nothing had prepared me for just how hard it is, just how sore your nipples get while you?re trying to establish a latch, I don?t know how I would have felt after potentially going through weeks of it. But I have to say that I?m not overly surprised that so many women give up in the first month, especially if they are really unprepared for what it?s really like.